Canon Japan Announces Optura 200MC

by News Editor
Published on Aug 1, 2002 12:00 AM



Canon has announced the Optura 200MC, replacing the 100MC. The camcorder appears to not include that many significant upgrades above the 100MC. The camcorder includes a 1.33 Mexapixel CCD, the same resolution CCD that was on the Optura 100MC. The new 200MC includes a 10x optical, 200x digital zoom, while the 100MC includes the exact same zoom lens. Both camcorders have a 2.5 in. LCD.

Still performance has not changed significantly on the camcorder. Stills are still saved to SD card via an internal slot. The camcorder can save up to 1280 x 960 pixel stills.

It really doesn't appear that Canon has made any major upgrades with the 200MC. The only major changes between the models seem to be that the 200MC is slightly smaller, includes USB video streaming, super night shot mode, and the ability to record MPEG video to the SD card. Although we can't judge the camcorder until we do a full review, it's doubtful that any of those features will make the upgrade worthwhile.

What appears to be a lack of upgrades with the 200MC will make many users question why they should upgrade, or why they shouldn't just by an Optura 100MC at a discounted price. Many users will be disappointed with the new camcorder, including many in our Optura Users Group. The Optura 200MC will be available in August for $1699.